I'd like to get my hands on a copy of Maria Reicher, ed., States of Affairs (Ontos Verlag, 2009). I didn't find it in the ASU catalog and so I headed over to Amazon.com where I found a used copy for the entirely reasonable price of $9,999.99 plus $3.99 shipping and handling. I kid you not. You might think they'd throw in free S & H on orders over $5,000.00.
Maybe it is like this. The whole world is Amazon's oyster, and in that wide world there are quite a few ontology freaks, your humble correspondent one of them, and probably a couple crazy enough to fork over $10 K for this collection of essays. So why not ask a ridiculous price? You just might get it.
Does anyone in Ontology Land have a copy of this collection that he or she is willing to part with?
I will put it to good use. I have been invited to contribute an essay to a volume commemorating the late David M. Armstrong. My essay is tentatively entitled "Facts: Realism, Anti-Realism, Semi-Realism." So I need to be en rapport with all the latest literature.
Update (9/3). My explanation three paragraphs supra is mistaken. See Mark B.'s comment for a much better one.
To be fair, it is Marvel Books that is offering and pricing that book, not Amazon. It’s probably worth contacting the 3rd party seller and making an offer.
This German ebay offering may be helpful:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Reicher-Maria-Elisabeth-States-of-Affairs-bei-averdo-/351151390408
Good point, Alfred. Thanks.
There is a print-on-demand copy, also available from Germany via ABE.
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=maria+reicher&bi=0&bx=off&ds=20&recentlyadded=all&sortby=17&sts=t&tn=states+of+affairs
The book is available at DeGruyter publisher (who have bought/merged with/whatever Ontos Verlag recently) at 85 euro (119 USD). The link is
http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/209137?rskey=OlnNhx&result=6
The excessive price of States of Affairs is explained here:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110425/03522114026/infinite-loop-algorithmic-pricing-amazon-how-book-flies-cost-2369865593.shtml
It may be worth contacting the retailer.
http://www.bookbyte.com/textbooks/states-of-affairs-philosopjische-analyse–philosophical/9783868380408-386838040x
New for $115.95. One copy left. I’m half-tempted to buy it myself and mark it up a few thousand bucks on Amazon.
If you are looking for buying options for rare and hard to find books I recommend bookfinder.com. It is a meta-search engine that searches thousands of sellers and is able to access millions of books. A search on “Reicher” and “States of Affairs” returns 18 results, most of which are priced between $115 and $259.
Thank you, gentlemen.
The TechDirt article linked above by Mark B. explains Amazon’s infinite loop algorithm that causes the absurd pricing.